


Sagittarius A

by queuebey



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Future, M/M, Outer Space, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24976867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queuebey/pseuds/queuebey
Summary: Jongdae craves to be blinded by the light.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen
Comments: 25
Kudos: 34
Collections: Challenge #4 — Into the Future





	Sagittarius A

**Author's Note:**

> Finally there was a fest that could cater to my non-existent attention span :D

Jongdae had always been entranced by the secrets the universe kept shut in a tightly locked box, key most likely thrown away into a black hole, lost in clusters of questions unanswered. Some would describe black holes as the universe’s trash chutes, but Jongdae knew better. He knew such powerful phenomena could only exist for greater, transcendental, reasons human intellect could never truly comprehend. He speculated, even, that along with the key, was thrown into the void the box itself. After all, there was nothing more fitting to the entropy of the universe than locking Prometheus away with Pandora, bundling chaos and hope together as if they were one in the same. Little did Jongdae know that they were.

Even more intriguing, however, was the overwhelming presence of light amongst the anguishing pull of the darkness. Black holes, as he had learned, were often orbited by stars, infinitely spiraling around their own demise. A convolution of supernova remnants, molecular gas and elements that pose the right conditions for the miracle of star birth, all engaging in a very dangerous dance. Such a turbulent area in the cosmos was bound to emit unthinkable amounts of energy, and with it, light, the fastest force in the universe, yet incapable of escaping the event horizon of a black hole, of gravity so strong it became a point of no return. Or did it?

With head in the clouds and feet firmly planted on the ground, Jongdae learned how to fly. He soon became the youngest astronaut to join the Space Force and would have the honor of participating in its most ambitious mission yet: directly investigating the center of the Milky Way. Such a mission was no more dangerous than any other, as they would, with luck, stay on the outskirts of the galaxy’s nuclei, close enough to get a glimpse of the chaos that unfolded beyond.

Technology had progressed enough to allow for a rather quick trip, of around 6 years, or 2104 days. Time, in the end, was all they had to offer, and Jongdae would give eternity if only to scratch the surface of the universe’s oh so well kept secrets. 6 years was a small price to pay to caress his dreams. And so he went, head in the stars and feet steadily taking him further into the unknown, where no one had ever been.

The end, or perhaps the beginning, of the mission approached. Jongdae’s heart beat heavily in his chest, the perils that awaited him inching closer, pulling him in. Strangely, he yearned for it, yearned for nuclear chaos to consume him, oh what a fitting ending that would be. Perhaps Jongdae was a lachesist.

Unable to contain his excitement, he assumed position at the front, from where he would deploy the instruments that would do the exploring for them, as such a turbulent area was far too dangerous for them to leave the safety of the ship. His crewmates were in charge of other key activities at this stage of the mission, so he would have to do this alone. It was simple enough: get dressed, transfer the rangers, open the outer hatch, approve launch, celebrate. If there was ever a break it or make it moment in his career, that had to be it. He couldn’t mess up, he wouldn’t mess up.

Having mentally checked all steps, his fate now lied between him and a big emfatic red button protected with a keycard and a password. With every digit he pressed, he felt time stall around him like in a movie approaching its climax. But that was stupid. So as if to prove a point, he punched the last digit, 4, his lucky number, and right after, the now blinking red button. He observed as the hatch unclicked and the hydraulic pipes pushed the lid up, signal for the rangers to move towards the darkness that unveiled itself so brightly before Jongdae’s eyes.

He looked around, searching for something he did not know, perhaps answers, perhaps more questions. Instead, he was met with the most breathtaking sight he had ever seen. A star, moving beyond comprehensible speed, almost collapsing within itself, approached an even more powerful force. Jongdae dared to stare into the darkness, entranced by the beauty of what he was about to witness. The black hole at the deepest nook of the galaxy was about to consume the brightest star he had ever seen, an event that would generate enough radiation to encinerate the entire ship. How did base not predict such a thing? Somehow Jongdae couldn’t bring himself to care, the thought soon pushed to the back of his mind. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the scene that would surely burn his retinas, couldn’t respond to the raging voices that called for him through the speakers. He saw the death of a star, saw the universe staring right into him as beams of blinding lights invaded every atom of his being.

He saw him. The symbol of primordial chaos himself stared right back at him.

The last thought Kim Jongdae registered before fainting was how beautiful the ruler of the Outer Gods was.

-

Somewhere where time and space bended to Byun Baekhyun’s desire, laid now a barely conscious human. He gently caressed his hair, patiently waiting for infinity to heal his damaged soul. He could speed up the process, but such a fragile body wouldn’t survive such nonsense. So he waited. After all, he had all the time in the universe. 

Now, so did the man in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the result of a Wikipedia deep dive, as inspired by an episode of Cosmos: Possible Worlds with Neil deGrasse Tyson, clearly.


End file.
